Most economical 4x4

crazycurls

I currently have a very old Discovery 260,000 miles on clock and now requiring a lot of expensive work doing. I absolutely need a 4x4 without one recently i would not have been able to get to my animals who are 20 mins drive from my house on country lanes.

It's this distance thats my major factor as the disco (diesel and old!)only does about 20mpg. I often have to go 3 times a day plus visit my husband in hospital every day (30 mins) where he is expected to be for at least the next 8 weeks then following discharge he will go back for physio.

It does need to be a proper 4x4 as is used for pulling trailers harrowing and rolling etc. A school run poser type would not be any good.


Herein lies my problem I see loads of big 4x4 every day that obviously have never seen a field, but are any of them capable. Many of the names on the back of them I have never heard of let alone know how to pronounce.

So can anyone help with a recomendation for a non gas guzzling 4x4 that can also tow a good weight. Thanks.

Hintza

You really need to dome some more work on this.

Your major issues is how much weight are you towing? If not too heavy you should be able to go down to things like Honda CRV's but ifr the weight is heavy you will be stick with the likes of the Discovery.

I have just re-read your post and see you want it for harrowing etc :eek: (is that not a tractor job?) . You really are wanting a lot from it! None are going to be economical so it might be better searching out the deal rather than the car.

From what you say a Defender might be the best bet (but they have pretty good residuals)?

What about a small car as a run around and then a 4x4 for the bigger jobs?

I'm afraid my post isn't very helpful but perhaps might get you thinking.

crazycurls

Hintza wrote: »

I have just re-read your post and see you want it for harrowing etc :eek: (is that not a tractor job?)

yes it is your right and my neighbouring farmer does the major part for me. I use the disco to do the sand school and the awkward bits the farmer cant get into in the paddocks.

The economy factor has only become an issue since my husband was hospitalised as prior to that I went down in the morning worked there all day and came back in the eve. Now I am back and forth all over the place. Unfortunately 2 cars isnt an option which is a shame as that would be ideal.

Hintza

OK

What weight do you need to tow? How much does a harrow weigh (ie not actual weight, but equivalent weight when being towed, you don't want to rip the guts out of your car).

What is your budget?

If the Disco is still running OK then I would be tempted to keep it until it dies or the financial situation clears up. My sister has a N reg Disco and I know it is starting to get expensive. The last big repair took a lot of soul searching and it is marginal on whether it was worth it but they have had the car from new so better the devil you know.


My two questions will narrow your choice down quite a bit unless you can make alternative arrangements to do some of the jobs you require of the vehicle.

I drive a Grand Cherokee with the Mercedes 3.0 CRD diesel and the price of 1 year old ones is shockingly low (compared to purchase price). I like it because of the engine and gearbox which I think is one of the best on the market.

What I would be looking at are:-

Defender
Discovery
Jeep Grand Cherokee
Ssang Yong (I would do a bit of research on this first but I think this might be quite good value for money)
Isuzu Trooper (getting on a bit but were quite well thought of at the time)
Mitsubishi Shogun (probably not the Sport as it's based on the L200 and might be a bit light for towing)
Kia Sorrento

Chesnut1

I am in the same boat as you and I have just changed from my old Discovery as I do about 15000 miles a year but I need a tow vehichle for the horses/dogs and lugging about elderly relatives and we all live off the beaten track so to speak but no space to park a runaround car. After much research in January I bought a 51 plate Isuzu Trooper Duty SWB 3.0DT (3.0 check they have had the recall work done with Isuzu i.e engine probs at that age) So far it has been great, it is nippy about town and great to park plus more stable on open road (no swaying about like the Discovery) and it loves motorway cruising. I am currently getting about 30 mpg. But I think the full service history helps and I will continue with this. It was not too expensive to buy either as I picked it up for £2K and I think the bodywork will last longer than the Discovery, I should know I owned two and they rotted:rolleyes: Hope this helps:D

I should add that I two too very large h/w hunters/cobs with a Ifor 510 and the Troopers weight ratio is up to this.

Pew_Pew_Pew_Lasers!

My friend's GF drives a Kia Sorento, which she uses to pull horseboxes, through fields as well as roads. It has never failed them.

They're cheap, use (IIRC) a Mercedes diesel engine, and are quite refined. I know people through work who have done 20-30,000 a year in them, without problems.

Pssst

RAV 4 Diesel 2.0

Hintza

Pssst wrote: »

RAV 4 Diesel 2.0

Not enough grunt for what the OP needs. And the rear door is a pain if you are lugging a lot of kit but if OP can downgrade their requirements then I would be looking at that along with CRV, Xtrail etc.

Even further down the Quashquai is quite good.

Hintza

The more I think about this if I was the OP I would be looking for something about a year old (ie taken a big depreciation hit already) and then making the assumption that the OP keeps her vehicles until they die just run it for as many years as possible.

The problems with buying older vehicles is no warranty and the chance it has been flogged to death.

If OP goes this route then future residuals are irrelevant and she can concentrate on longevity.

Fuel economy is always going to be a struggle but the Grand Cherokee is advertised as qbout 27mpg I probably get slightly less +/-10% but as soon as the horsebox goes on that drops to about 18mpg.

Of course some will be better than others fuel wise but generally speaking that will be due to reduced weight which in turn will compromise towing performance.

Any decision the OP makes will be a series of compromises.

AdrianHi

Definatly conflicting requirements here.

I was looking around for a replacement for my father-in-laws X reg. grand Cherokee a while back.
The afore mentioned Kia Sorrento manages an official combined 35.8mpg I found hard to beat on fuel consumption without downgrading in size and servicing costs are said to be very reasonable.

After that a Toyota Land Cruiser (31mpg) because it's hard not to admire them when you've seen 35 year olds bombing off into the Australian outback coming back day after day without a hitch.
Toyota Land Cruiser Amazon is really big, gettting thirsty, but it can charge down a rough track at 60mph, it feels like a Sunday drive on the M25 and can swallow a small herd of sheep.

Good luck, best compromise is probably that Kia, least costly option, still a decent size with the right abilities.

Hintza

AdrianHi wrote: »

After that a Toyota Land Cruiser (31mpg) because it's hard not to admire them when you've seen 35 year olds bombing off into the Australian outback coming back day after day without a hitch.

The only problem is the pricing structure in Australia, South africa etc mean they get the stripped down hard working versions. Whilst we get the over expensive bloated luxury versions